Adding a humidifier to your home, or place of business, is vitally important and offers a plethora of benefits. The dry months of winter are the times you need an indoor humidifier more than any others. Most importantly, when you have dry winters, like the ones we have in the Twin Cities, you, your family, and the things in your home can suffer many ill affects from dry air.
Indoor air, especially in the winter, can have humidity levels at 10 percent or below. The ideal humidity level for your home or place of business is about 30-40 percent.
Here is a list of the top reasons for installing a humidifier in your home or place of business:
- Relieve Sinusitis: when the air is too dry, sinuses don’t drain and function as they are meant to. Most doctors agree, adding humidity to the air is an excellent method of helping ensure sinus heath. If you regularly suffer from congestion and sinusitis, adding a humidifier to your home could be your ticket to a more comfortable life.
- Prevent and Treat Illness: Humidity allows the tiny hairs in your nose to move and actively filter out bacteria and viruses which in turn helps to prevent colds and flu. In addition, adding humidity to your home, helps prevent bloody noses. In the event you do catch a cold or flu, air moistened with an indoor humidifier, can help soothe many of the uncomfortable symptoms – including the irritation of nasal passages, throat, and bronchial tubes which will help you breath and sleep easier.
- Alleviate Snoring: The increased indoor moisture provided by a humidifier helps to keep the throat from drying out which is one of the most likely reasons for snoring. If your partner keeps you awake sawing logs, an indoor humidifier would mean better nights sleep for you both.
- Protect Furniture: Wood furnishings and flooring both wear out faster when their is too little moisture in the air. Dry indoor air can cause wood to split and crack. Adding indoor humidification will help preserve the integrity of all the wood in your home or office.
- Hydrate Indoor Plants: Most species of indoor plants originally came from tropical and semi-tropical climates with high humidity. Indoor air, especially in these brutal Minnesota winters, does not offer adequate humidity for houseplants to thrive. Dry air manifests itself in your plants when their leaves get brown at the tips or when they die altogether. Adding a humidifier to your home will definitely make your plants happier.
- Greatly Reduce Static Shocks: It is no fun when you receive a shock every time you touch something metal, or grounded, in your home. By ensuring your homes humidity levels are in “the safe zone” you will greatly reduce the annoyance of static shocks.
- Moisturize Your Skin: Hot, dry heat, filling your home during the winter months in Maple Grove can leave skin tight, dry and itchy. The skin on your hands is especially subject to this as they have fewer oil glands. Chapped lips are another curse of the dry wintertime – a humidifier can help keep them moisturized as well.
- Create Warmth: The installation of an indoor humidifier will not only help keep dry skin at bay in the winter, it will also make your home feel warmer. The more moisture that is in the air, the warmer it will feel. For instance, air with a temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit and 10 percent humidity will feel like 67 degrees – with 50 percent humidity, it will feel like 70 degrees.
- Preserve Your Voice: Your vocal cords need to be well lubricated to remain supple which in turn allows them to vibrate and produce the best sounds. Dehydration, viruses, and even eating or drinking the wrong thing can cause you to lose your singing, and even your speaking, voice. Keeping your indoor environment’s air moist, especially when you slumber, can help you get your voice back.
As you can see, adding humidity to your home can have many positive impacts. It is a careful balancing act, however. Too much moisture in the air can encourage the growth of organisms, including dust mites. Properly monitoring moisture levels and regular maintenance to your humidifier can ensure you get all of the benefits of humidified air without the risks.
At Comfort Solutions we care about the quality of your life. If you think you could benefit from a new humidifier, or need work done on an existing unit, give us a call and we can talk about it. Contact us at 763-565-2121 or email info@comfortsolutionstc.com.